Duke in line for a No. 1 seed?

Purdue's misfortune could benefit Duke and add to the ACC's history of No. 1 NCAA basketball tournament seeds.

At least one ACC team has earned a top regional seed in six consecutive, and 17 of the last 20, years. Moreover, dating to 1986, each of the last nine teams to win the conference's regular season and tournament, has received a No. 1 seed.

With Kansas and Kentucky virtually assured two of the four No. 1s, and Purdue and the Big East champion (Villanova or Syracuse) contending for the others, the ACC's streaks appeared in jeopardy.

But Wednesday night, Purdue lost its best player for the remainder of the season. Junior forward Robbie Hummel, the Boilermakers' second-leading scorer and rebounder, tore the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee in a victory at Minnesota.

The NCAA selection committee considers injuries when seeding, and clearly Purdue (24-3) won't be as formidable. That said, the Boilermakers remain capable of winning their final three regular-season games: Saturday at home versus Michigan State and next week against Big Ten bantamweights Indiana and Penn State.

But if Purdue stumbles against Michigan State and again in the Big Ten tournament, the committee might well drop it to a No. 2 or 3 seed.

Among those positioned to grab that No. 1 are Kansas State, the Big East runner-up and Duke. The Blue Devils (24-4, 11-2) lead Maryland by a game atop the ACC, and the teams play Wednesday in College Park.

A No. 1 seed is particularly coveted this season because it allows a team to duck behemoths Kentucky and Kansas until the Final Four.

Although Duke is No. 2 in the latest Rating Percentage Index, most bracket forecasters bypassed the Devils for a No. 1 seed, this based on non-conference losses at Wisconsin and Georgetown. But if Duke, which next plays Sunday night at Virginia, runs the table through the ACC tournament, it would enter the NCAAs on a 13-game roll.

Such a streak combined with Hummel's injury likely would make the Devils a No. 1 seed for the 11th time, the eighth in the last 13 years.